


Family meetings

by Caliras



Series: Dyslexic Stan [13]
Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Abusive Filbrick Pines, Anger, Angry Stanford, Angst, Dyslexia, Dyslexic Stan, Family Feels, Filbrick Pines Is A Jerk, Minor Character Death, Protective Ford Pines, Punching
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-08
Updated: 2018-05-08
Packaged: 2019-05-03 21:41:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14578254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Caliras/pseuds/Caliras
Summary: Ford finds out how Filbrick treated Stan. He's angry.





	1. It's over

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so I made two things inspired from a conversation with RabbitsFoot. I couldn't decide whether I liked angst or Filbrick getting what he deserved more, so you get both. Also another chapter for something else :)

Seven months. Stan had been in therapy for seven months. The most recent visit confirmed his suspicions and made his blood boil. Filbrick had abused Stan. Mom hadn’t, which made him glad that he’d waited for Stan to come out and say it since he was ready to come down on them both. Stan was doing better, he’d had cataract surgery, and in his sessions he was slowly opening up. Of course, now that Ford knew some of what was going on, he’d looked out for his brother more. During nights he couldn’t sleep, he’d stand next to Stan’s door, only to hear him in the throes of another nightmare. In the morning, he seemed more tired that usual, so Ford had gotten in the habit of buying Stan’s favorite snacks in the morning.

He would cook, but, well, once he’d nearly burnt down the kitchen, and nearly gave his brother a heart attack, he’d decided to not cook. Well, actually Stan made him promise to never cook again without supervision. Anyway, after he’d told Dr. Medicine and Ford that he’d been hit -somehow very casual about it- Ford had been pissed. But, he’d stayed for awhile. Until he heard Stan having another nightmare, and he’d snapped. Which is why he was driving during the night, a few hours till sunrise, with his hands gripping the wheel so hard he thought it might break.

His airplane ticket was safe in his wallet, a short letter explaining his absence was at home, and he was furious. Driving up to the airport, he prepared for the eighteen hour flight.

~~~~~~~

The airplane landed and Ford was seriously questioning his reaction. Not that he regretted it, but really? That was a long flight, and by now he knows that his letter has been seen. It says that he’s off monster hunting and won’t be back anytime soon. He does regret leaving Stan so soon after the therapy session, but even now, he still feels the rage inside him. In fact, it was building up again, because he was here. In New Jersey. Just thirty minutes away from Glass Shard Beach. Yep, he was pissed again.

He walked out of the airport and into a taxi, content to sit and stew until they reached the old antique shop. Paying the driver, he stepped out of the car, only to notice how… abandoned the place looked.

Leaning back into the car, he asked, “Has this place been shut down?” After the driver nodded, he questioned him, “Why?"

“I heard that the owner died.”

What?

~~~~~~~

A grave sat in front of him. A somber, yet infuriating sight. He was never going to get revenge. Because Filbrick was dead. He kneeled on the grass and stared at the bare tombstone for a long moment. Rage filled him up and coursed hotly though him. So, with a disturbing finality, he punched it. He didn’t do any damage, but he felt as if he needed to do it. He stood up.

“Stan- Stan deserved more than this. You always thought that I was the one who was going to change the world. Well, I didn’t, but guess what? Stan saved it. He- at the risk of his own life, his memories, he saved us all. And I couldn’t. And I’m okay with that. I blamed him for so long, but I never realized that me leaving meant that one of the only people who supported him would be gone from his life. Looking back on it, I believe him. It was an accident and he didn’t know how to reach out. He wasn’t angry, he was scared. So you kicked him out while I watched. I’m not okay with that. Not anymore. I’m trying to make amends now, and how I wish you felt guilty for hurting him.”

At this point, he took a deep breath, before continuing, “ You? You didn’t deserve him. We didn’t deserve him. But. I’m going to try. I’m going to make myself worthy of him. Worthy enough to stand with him, instead of behind him or ahead of him. So that I don’t feel guilty whenever I see him. You never got the chance to, and you don’t deserve it. Frankly? I’m not sure if I do either. But since he’s giving me the chance, I’ll take it. He wants to get better, and he wants to repair what broke between us. And I’ll be there, and I hope I can stand with him. He’s told me that it’s alright, that apologizing was enough, that I wasn’t to blame. I still feel guilty, but more than that, I feel ashamed. At the both of us. I won’t return here. Goodbye, fath-” No, not anymore. This man wasn’t his father.

He went back to the airport, not once looking back.


	2. Ford is angry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can skip the words in between the '/'s since they are the same beginning from the other chapter.

/Seven months. Stan had been in therapy for seven months. The most recent visit confirmed his suspicions and made his blood boil. Filbrick had abused Stan. Mom hadn’t, which made him glad that he’d waited for Stan to come out and say it since he was ready to come down on them both. Stan was doing better, he’d had cataract surgery, and in his sessions he was slowly opening up. Of course, now that Ford knew some of what was going on, he’d looked out for his brother more. During nights he couldn’t sleep, he’d stand next to Stan’s door, only to hear him in the throes of another nightmare. In the morning, he seemed more tired that usual, so Ford had gotten in the habit of buying Stan’s favorite snacks in the morning.

He would cook, but, well, once he’d nearly burnt down the kitchen, and nearly gave his brother a heart attack, he’d decided to not cook. Well, actually Stan made him promise to never cook again without supervision. Anyway, after he’d told Dr. Medicine and Ford that he’d been hit -somehow very casual about it- Ford had been pissed. But, he’d stayed for awhile. Until he heard Stan having another nightmare, and he’d snapped. Which is why he was driving during the night, a few hours till sunrise, with his hands gripping the wheel so hard he thought it might break.

His airplane ticket was safe in his wallet, a short letter explaining his absence was at home, and he was furious. Driving up to the airport, he prepared for the eighteen hour flight.

~~~~~~~

The airplane landed and Ford was seriously questioning his reaction. Not that he regretted it, but really? That was a long flight, and by now he knows that his letter has been seen. It says that he’s off monster hunting and won’t be back anytime soon. He does regret leaving Stan so soon after the therapy session, but even now, he still feels the rage inside him. In fact, it was building up again, because he was here. In New Jersey. Just thirty minutes away from Glass Shard Beach. Yep, he was pissed again. He walked out of the airport and into a taxi, content to sit and stew until they reached the old antique shop./

Paying the driver, he stepped out of the car, and saw that it was open. Hoping that no customers were inside, he walked in. Filbrick was there, he hadn’t seen Ford yet. He has white hair now, and no longer wears sunglasses. In their place, prescription glasses sit on wrinkled skin. There are more wrinkles born from anger than laugh lines. His face is drawn until he looks at Ford, and it crinkles into a smile. Ford doesn’t smile back. Instead, this only serves to piss him off. So, with controlled, even steps, he walks up to Filbrick, and punches him square in the face.

“Ford! What the he-” He began until Ford cut him off.

“That’s for the years of abuse that you put them through,” He nearly snarled.

Alright, so Ford didn’t know if he had abused Ma, too, but it was a fairly educated guess.

“Ford what in the devil's name are you talking about?” He growled out, holding his hand to his nose, and Ford was satisfied to see blood drip from it.

“My twin. My mom. You. Hurt. Them.” Now he really was snarling, no longer making an effort to control himself.

Filbrick’s gaze hardened, and he lowered his hand from his still bleeding nose, “How do you know this? And why do you suddenly care?”

Ford grit his teeth, trying not to punch the man again, before forcing out, “He told me and his doctor during a therapy session. And I’ve always cared.”

Filbrick scoffed at that, but questioned, “Your brother is dead. Car crash remember? You were at the funeral.”

“That wasn’t me, that was him. I was gone through a portal for years, until he brought me back.” He might punch him again.

“Ford… have you gone delusional? Stan couldn’t bring you home. He couldn’t even bring himself home. He’s dead.” Ford punched him again, unable to restrain himself, then pulled out two pictures, throwing them at Filbrick.

One was a picture of the functioning portal, taken during one of the tests with a polaroid. The other one was of Stan and Ford, on the new Stan O’ War, taken by Mabel. He carried these both in his wallet, a reminder of the past, and hope for the future. Snatching them up -Ford nearly sighed in relief when he didn’t grab them with his bloodied hand-, Filbrick’s eyes widened, and he looked back up at Ford, who took them back.

“Thats… thats impossible. How… how?” Then man stuttered.

“I’ve. Already. Told. You. I made an interdimensional portal, went through it in an accident, and was stuck there until Stan brought me back.” His jaw hurt from clenching his teeth so hard, barely managing to force the words past his lips.

“You made a portal to another dimension? That’s incredible! I’m so proud of you!” Filbrick still seemed to be trying to hold onto the lie he’d kept all these years.

That he never abused them. That his family was okay. That he was right.

“Don’t be.” Don’t you dare say you’re proud of me.

“What?”

“I said, don’t be.”

“Bu-”

“No. One, I don’t need you to be proud of me. And two, I made a mistake. A big mistake. I helped cause the apocalypse, something that was luckily contained. It was something I couldn’t fix, couldn’t stop. Stan saved us. The people of Gravity Falls stood up, and fixed the things that I couldn’t. But Stan? He risked everything, knowing he might never remember who he was. He’s the hero, yet you turn to me. You never bothered to learn about him. About how his heart was bigger than mountains, you only tried to crush it under your foot. You never learned about his bravery, instead you denied it. You didn’t find out about his dyslexia. You called him stupid. You denied him glasses. You always turned to me. You disgust me.”

And just like that, the facade fell, leaving an angry, abusive man, “THEY DESERVED IT! I did everything I could to keep my family in a home, yet all they did was disobey me! They brought me dishonor, tarnished my reputation, and brought shame to this family! All while living under my roof! Your mother!? SHE LEFT ME! She was weak. Said something about ‘protecting’ Shermy.” He took a deep, let it out, then continued, “All they needed to do, was learn. Like you, my son. You are the only one in this family who listened to me. You-”

“Stop. You’re not my father. You make me sick. Stan is so much more than you ever were or ever will be, so you don’t get to talk about him as if he was beneath you. Nobody does. He did what you could never do, he sacrificed himself, and you don’t seem to even understand that. I truly wish I’d seen this sooner, because as far as I’m concerned? You’re dead to me. No. Not even that. I will never return here. Goodbye, Filbrick.”

“Wait-”

He didn’t give the dignity of a response. He didn’t once look back as he walked out the door. He feared that if he stayed any longer, he may do something drastic. Not that he would’ve minded all too much, but he had to get back now. Being in jail wouldn’t help, not when he needed to fix things with Stan. Maybe they’d never truly be fixed. He was willing to try, and he’d stay with his brother this time. He felt like he owed him that much. After all, Ford was almost certain that Stan has been protecting him for much longer than he’d thought. Now it was his turn.


	3. A sweet reunion

Two men walked down a bright pier in California, colorful crowds of people surrounding them, emanating happiness and peace. The air was warm, and smelled of saltwater mixed with whatever concessions the vendors made. They walked on side by side, until they came to a purple tent, worn sign hanging above it that neither of them bothered to read. Glancing at each other, they walked in to find an old woman, shrouded in red with purple eyeshadow. Her hair was white, and her nail were sharp. A deck of cards sat in front of her, and a glass ball stood in the middle of the table. Incense hung heavy in the air, and one of them found an oddly familiar painting of a sunset hanging in the back. Her makeup no longer hid bruises, but was there as a mark of victory, every line was sharp and every color was bright.

She spoke quietly, with an air of mystery, “Ah, I’ve been expecting you.”

The gruffer one smiled at this, sat down, and spoke gently, “Ah, so you’ve had the fortune of a miracle?”

He head snapped up at his voice, looking at them for the first time since they had entered the tent.

He spoke up again, corners of his mouth tugging up, “Nice place you’ve got here.”

Once the first tear slid down her face, there was no stopping it, and she cried for the first time in years. Then, she did something she hadn’t done in many, many years, something she’d thought impossible. She held her sons, her twins, together.


End file.
